Parliamentary questions
Sandra White
1,617 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
16 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21502 by Cathy Jamieson on 14 December 2005, whether the term “otherwise”, as defined by section 43(1) of the Prisons (Scotland) Act 1989, would cover a person committed for torture.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No. The Scottish Prison Servicemay only detain a person for lawful purposes. Torture is prohibited under Article3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the activation of Article 52 of the European Convention on Human Rights by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and reports by investigative journalists into the use of rendition flights and notwithstanding the terms of the answer to question S2W-20910 by Cathy Jami…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The request for information by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, in terms of Article 52 of the European Convention of Human Rights, has been made to the UK Government, as a Party to the Convention and the Scottish Executive will assist the UK Go…
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive , further to the answer to question S2W-20910 by Cathy Jamieson on 7 December 2005, whether its discussions with the UK Government also included the case of Saad Iqbal Madni who was reportedly seized in January 2002 by CIA agents in Indonesia and flown in a Gulfstream V which landed in Sc…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No, Scottish Executive officials have not discussed the case of Saad Iqbal Madni with the UK Government.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has taken any legal advice in light of the comments made by Lord Steyn that ministers may be guilty of war crimes if it is subsequently established that they were aware of CIA-operated rendition flights through Scottish airports.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Scottish ministers are not aware of any such flights through Scottish airports.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the move by the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester to launch a formal investigation into the use of rendition flights, it will recommend that Scottish chief constables hold similar inquiries in their own force areas as a matter of urgency.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: This is an operational matter for the chief constables. I understand Scottish Police Forces are liaising with Association of Chief Police Officers, in the examination and analysis of the available information. I am confident that they will act upon any specif…
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20910 by Cathy Jamieson on 7 December 2005, whether it will recommend to Her Majesty’s Government that it monitors the international press coverage on rendition flights in order to be kept aware of the issue.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: It is not necessary or appropriate for the Scottish Executive to make such a recommendation. The UK Government will decide for itself what action is required in this respect.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what legal onus is placed on public officials to act if they are aware of electrocution being involved in the transportation through Scotland of suspects for interrogation.
Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer to my answer to previous S2W-21742 on 13 January 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search…
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether the use of electrocution during interrogation would constitute an act of torture under Scots law.
Answer · Colin Boyd: The unlawful application of electric shocks would constitute an assault under the common law of Scotland and I refer to my answer to the previous question S2W-21741 on 13 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parli…
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what legal onus is placed on public officials to act if they are aware of suspects being transported through Scotland for interrogation using methods such as “water boarding”.
Answer · Colin Boyd: A public official is obliged to act in accordance with the law. If a public official has knowledge about the commission of a criminal offence in Scotland, that official should report the matter to the police.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it considers that the use of “water boarding”, a procedure whereby a suspect’s head is reportedly held under water until they are on the point of drowning, would constitute an act of torture under Scots law.
Answer · Colin Boyd: Such a procedure would constitute an assault under the common law of Scotland. Whether this procedure would constitute the crime of torture would depend upon the status of the person committing the offence. Torture is a criminal offence in Scotland in terms o…
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of the US Secretary of State's reported comments that rendition flights are permissible under international law and that governments have the option of disclosing information on their involvement, how many non-extraordinary rendition flights operated by the CIA and landing at Sc…
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is not aware of any such flights landing at Scottish airports.</p>
14 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many times in (a) 2002, (b) 2003, (c) 2004 and (d) 2005 it has raised with the UK Government the issue of US rendition flights into Scottish airports.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Scottish Executive officials have been in contact with UK Government Departments on this issue as required, primarily in relation to the answering of Scottish parliamentary questions and other related enquiries.</p>
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many contamination incidents involving radium 226 and 228 have occurred at oil installations in the last 15 years, broken down by site.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. Failure to…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what estimates have been made in respect of the number of likely casualties resulting from a major explosion at oil installations across Scotland, broken down by site.
Answer · Allan Wilson: This information is not held centrally. The assessment of risks associated with oil installations across Scotland is primarily a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Control of Major Accident Hazards (COMAH) Regulations in close liaison …
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to review the advice available to the public following the major oil incident at Hemel Hempstead.
Answer · Allan Wilson: No immediate plans. The issuing of advice to the public in the event of an incident at an oil installation is a matter for the site operator and the responding emergency services: in the case of evacuation, this advice will primarily be given by the police ac…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has invested in civil contingency planning in each year since 1999, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Civil contingency planning is part of the core business of each local responder with responsibility for planning and responding to emergencies. Resources are provided to responder organisations through general funding mechanisms.</p> <p>The Executive provide…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many people per hour can be processed through decontamination tents by emergency services and local authority personnel in the event of a major contamination incident, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: Responsibility for the decontamination of casualties rests with NHSScotland. However, this is devolved to the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) who, subject to operational requirements, may devolve operational responsibility for provision of mass decontaminati…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many respirators with filters are available to local authority and emergency services personnel in the event of a major contamination incident, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: All three Emergency Serviceshave stocks of protective equipment including respirators, breathing equipment orair filter units, as follows:</p><p>The Scottish Ambulance Serviceholds 1,000 Chemical Personal Protection Equipment Suits which have, as an integralp…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many decontamination tents are available to public bodies, including local authorities, in the event of a major contamination incident, broken down by local authority area.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Ambulance Service has eight mobile decontamination units manned by specialist teams that would deploy to an incident. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have six mass decontamination units; an additional two units will be operational early in 2…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what guidance it has distributed to the public to provide specific advice on protecting them in the event of a major oil incident.
Answer · Allan Wilson: None. The issuing of advice to the public in the event of an incident at an oil installation is a matter for the site operator and the responding emergency services: in the case of evacuation, this advice will primarily be given by the police acting on inform…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many incidents of contamination of naturally occurring radioactive materials waste there have been at Scottish oil installations in each year since 1995.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993. Failure to…
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many shipping movements involving naturally occurring radioactive materials waste from Scottish oil establishments have taken place in each year since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.</p>
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what risk assessments it has carried out in respect of the potential for radioactive contamination in the event of a major incident at a Scottish oil establishment.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The assessment of risks associated with oil installations across Scotland is primarily a matter for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) under the Control of Major Hazards (COMAH) Regulations in close liaison with the site operator and Category 1 responders …
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive what licensing arrangements it has in place in respect of the storage of naturally occurring radioactive materials waste in Scottish oil establishments.
Answer · Ross Finnie: The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.</p>
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how much naturally occurring radioactive materials waste, in kilograms, has been generated by the oil industry and stored at sites in Scotland in each year since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.</p>
12 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many transport movements involving naturally occurring radioactive materials waste from the oil industry have taken place from Scottish ports in each year since 1999.
Answer · Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.</p>
6 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20911 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2005 and in light of reports alleging the use of Scottish airports for CIA rendition flights, whether local police forces only require reasonable suspicion, rather than hard evidence, to investigate whether a cri…
Answer · Colin Boyd: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21503 on 22 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/weba…
6 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases Scottish police forces have investigated this year based on intelligence rather than evidence that a criminal act has occurred.
Answer · Colin Boyd: Before the policecan investigate an allegation of a criminal offence, they must have reasonable groundsto believe that an offence is being planned, is being committed, or has occurred.There must be credible and reliable information before the police can comme…
6 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20911 by Cathy Jamieson on 5 December 2005, how Scottish ministers distinguish between passengers and prisoners.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: The definitions used are in statute and are as follows:</p> <p>“Passenger” means “a person other than a member of the crew”, as defined by the Air Navigation Order 2005 (SI 2005 No. 1970) Article 155.</p><p>“Prisoner” means “a person committed for trial, safe…
6 Dec 2005 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish the legal advice it has obtained in respect of the use of Scottish airports for CIA rendition flights.
Answer · Cathy Jamieson: No. I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21215 on 14 December 2005, which is available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at <a href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search">http://www.scottish.parl…